Works in Progress—WIPs, as we affectionately call them—are the quiet, sacred middle of the creative journey. They are the sketch before the masterpiece, the half-stitched quilt, the novel in its fifth messy draft. They are where things almost are, and where we are still figuring out what they will be. They demand something deeper than talent: they ask for our presence, our patience, and above all, a kind of energy that sustains.
This post is a meditation on that energy—on the quality of focus, intention, and rhythm that transforms a WIP into a completed work. Because while progress often feels external—lines drawn, pages filled, hours logged—the real engine behind every creation is internal: the coherence of energy we carry from day to day.
The Myth of the Final Product
Let’s begin with a confession: we live in a world obsessed with the finished thing. The gallery show, the printed book, the viral post, the applause. But art, and by extension all meaningful creation, is not just about the end result. It is a ritual of unfolding. And when we rush to the end, we miss the depth and insight that only the middle can offer.
The WIP is where your relationship with the work is built. Where you test your vision, confront your doubts, refine your choices. It’s messy. Uncertain. Sometimes thrilling. Often frustrating. But always honest. And for this phase of the process to thrive, it needs a particular kind of energy: coherent, sustained, and aligned.
What Is Coherent Energy?
Think of coherent energy as a throughline that connects your creative intention to your daily action. It’s the difference between a burst of motivation and a steady current of purpose. It’s not about force, but flow. It’s when your hand knows what your heart has seen.
Incoherent energy, by contrast, scatters. It’s when we start too many things and finish none. When doubt overrides vision. When exhaustion replaces curiosity. And it’s not a moral failing—it’s often a sign we’ve been trying to operate out of sync with ourselves.
Coherence doesn’t mean perfection. It means alignment. And it’s what allows a WIP to stay alive over time.
The Daily Practice of Staying with It
If there’s one thing every artist, writer, and maker knows, it’s this: staying with a work over weeks, months, or even years is not easy. The early thrill fades. The novelty wears off. Life gets in the way. How do we keep going?
Here are some reminders I return to, especially on WIP Wednesdays:
1. Honor the Stage You’re In
Not every part of the process looks like progress. Sketches are meant to be rough. Drafts are meant to be incomplete. This isn’t failure—it’s fidelity to process. When you allow your work to exist without rushing to perfect it, you make space for unexpected growth.
2. Energy Is Not Just Physical—It’s Emotional and Spiritual
Yes, sleep matters. So does movement, and food, and breaks. But creative energy is also about how clear you feel. Are you chasing someone else’s vision? Are you overwhelmed by outcomes? Bringing your energy back into coherence often means reconnecting with your why. Let your work be a place where your values and your voice can meet.
3. Create Rhythms, Not Routines
Daily discipline isn’t about doing the same thing every day. It’s about showing up with consistency and care. For some, that’s two hours at a desk. For others, it’s a weekly sketch check-in. Find the rhythm that reflects the energy you can sustain—not the pace someone else is keeping.
4. Protect Your Creative Time Like It’s Sacred (Because It Is)
Especially in the middle of a work, the outer world will try to pull you away: emails, social media, comparison. Your time with your WIP is a relationship. Set boundaries. Turn off distractions. Let the work know you’re still listening.
Joy as Fuel, Not Just Reward
We often associate joy with finishing—like it only arrives when the piece is framed or the book is published. But in truth, joy is available throughout the creative process, if we slow down enough to feel it.
The joy of discovering a surprising shape in a thumbnail sketch. The joy of rewriting a line that finally lands. The joy of knowing you showed up, even when it felt hard. These are the quiet victories of the WIP phase. They may not look like much from the outside, but they are the heartbeat of the creative life.
From WIP to Work of Wholeness
Completion is not a checkbox. It is a culmination. A gathering of hours, ideas, emotions, and effort into something you can now hold. But it only becomes whole because you chose, again and again, to bring coherent energy to it.
You didn’t rush. You didn’t abandon. You didn’t overexert to the point of burnout. You aligned. You trusted. You let it become.
That, more than anything, is the true work of art: the becoming itself.
WIP Wednesday Reflection
As you sit with your own work in progress today, ask:
- What kind of energy am I bringing to this?
- Where am I aligned, and where do I feel scattered?
- Can I find joy in this stage—even if it’s not yet finished?
Take a breath. Make a mark. Honor the becoming.
Because every great work was once an uncertain sketch—and it stayed alive because someone cared enough to continue.
